Not So Bad After All
by Shadow 3013
Summary: Yuri muses that maybe being engaged to Wolfram isn't as bad as he thought it would be.  Takes place during episodes 10 and 11. A bit slashy.


Yuri would never have slapped Wolfram if he'd known what he was really doing. If someone in the room had explained _why_ they wanted him to take back the action, he would have. How was he supposed to know the crazy customs of a world he'd just appeared in, after all?

Still, there was probably no use moping about the past. What was done was done, and there was no changing it. Not unless there was some weird time-traveling Demonic Object, and with his streak of luck even that wouldn't manage to work out properly. Lady Anissina was unlikely to have a device he could use. It was even less likely to work if she did have one... And if she knew why he wanted such a machine she would never give it to him anyways. She and the castle maids all thought that he and Wolfram were the most adorable couple in the kingdom, after all.

If Yuri was going to be honest with himself, though, being engaged to Wolfram really wasn't as bad as he'd feared it would be. They'd gotten off to a rough start, certainly, but he liked to think they were getting along quite well now. Wolfram still called him names, but there didn't seem to be any real dislike behind the words like there had been at the start. It was a lot like being partnered at school with someone you didn't really know or like. By the time your project was done and turned in, you were friendly with each other, even if you hadn't expected anything to change between you.

Of course, classmates didn't usually show their change of heart by crawling into your bed wearing a pink nightgown. Waking up to that had given Yuri quite a shock. But even though Wolfram had said he'd done it just because Yuri was a coward and a wimp in need of protection, it was nice to know he cared. Yuri had thrown him out of bed the next night only for the sake of putting up a fight against such a weird thing, and he was secretly relieved when Wolfram snuck back in.

Times like right now were what really gave Yuri hope for their future together. He was playing the part of Ace Detective, questioning citizens about a group of strange men, and Wolfram was good-naturedly providing backup. He was the Watson to Yuri's Sherlock, like in those old British books his mother was always reading. Sure, Wolfram was scowling and frowning and calling the whole attempt at clue-gathering idiotic, but that was normal. Every now and then—usually when someone Yuri was trying to question reacted poorly—he would catch a smile on Wolfram's face. He even heard him chuckle once. Each smile was like a precious gem Yuri hid away, thinking to himself, "This is how we should always be around each other: smiling."

Yuri never would have admitted to noticing, of course, but when Wolfram smiled he looked ten times as handsome as usual. It made Yuri's heart race and his stomach fill with butterflies. He was glad they were walking side-by-side now; it would give him time to calm down and pull himself together. That was good, because one more smile and Yuri was pretty sure that he'd—

"Wolfram!" Conrad shouted from ahead of them, his alarmed voice breaking Yuri's reverie. "Behind you!"

"Don't hurt him!" Yuri thought, a quick prayer to God, or The Great One, or whoever listened to prayers in this strange world. Then he was plunged into darkness, his body refusing to respond to his commands, as Wolfram and Conrad's scared, angry shouts faded from his ears.

He had nightmares about odd, shadowy figures capturing and torturing Wolfram. When he woke he sat bolt upright, his fiancé's name tearing past his lips at full volume, his heart pounding so hard he thought it might explode through his ribs to go searching for Wolfram on its own.

Later, even wearing a frilly maid's outfit in public couldn't dent his happiness at finding Wolfram safe and sound. If there hadn't been hostile soldiers around he'd have thrown his arms around Wolfram and never let go, but he didn't want to injure the other man's pride like that. It would have been too cruel.

When Yuri changed back into his usual school uniform, Conrad turned away, but Wolfram watched him the whole time. Yuri stared right back at him, smiling like an idiot. As soon as he finished with the last button he charged forward and hugged Wolfram as hard as he could. Conrad laughed, Wolfram blushed, and Yuri didn't regret it one bit. They were going to find the brothers' uncle, and he didn't want to risk putting off the embrace until later.

He was finally learning that on this strange planet, later could be tricky to get to.


End file.
